Me? Bored? No Way!


 This was a pretty interesting and fulfilling couple of weeks. First of all, I have a temporary, nearly full-time job at the Administration building for the Auburn School District. I'm filling in for a position that will be filled early May. It's an administrative assistant in the Department of Student Learning. There are 3 of us and we work for about 4 department heads. My position is a highly reactive job so I'm doing last minute stuff all the time. But it's a lot of diversity which is just what I like. Lots of copying, cutting, emailing, hole-punching, binding, collecting signatures, etc. I'll be working right up to the day I leave for Hawaii, it looks like.

A big event that happened is that Denny is finally, actually getting his promotion to General Foreman. It's not just talk any more, his boss actually put in his last day request and Denny is getting the paperwork, attending the classes, etc. Interesting that the one child of mine that didn't finish high school is the one "getting ahead" secularly quicker than the others who graduated with honors. He had the opportunity to begin to work out his career a little sooner I guess. And I think he found his "niche". Concrete. Hoodathunk?

Last Wednesday I got to drive out in service and that was fun too. Everyone enjoyed my toaster, it's a very comfortable car to get in and out of.

Then last Thursday Joe and Shayne had a field trip to the zoo that I'd been invited to join about a month ago. Well, the day was perfect weather-wise and the animals were, for the most part, very active. Shirley brought Elise, of course, and the boys wanted to be with their school group so we were in a group of 3 adults, 4 kids and Elise. It was very pleasant and the kids were mostly well-behaved. One kid, Cody, wasn't very obedient but with 3 adults in charge we kept him in line. Then the school group left and Shirley and I and the kids got to stay and enjoy more at our own pace.
I asked the help of my older sons to get my storm debris cleaned up since it's spring and yardwork is beginning to mount. Saturday I got my firebug son, Denny, to come up and help me start a fire to burn the ton of branches that were laying in piles all around the yard. He got the fire going all right, it was about 8 feet across and 4 feet high at it's peak and it took only 2 and a half hours to burn the whole mess. The coals were still hot enough the next afternoon that it started right up when we added more debris. Well, Keith had to fan it a bit. Actually, Keith had to fan it a LOT!

Then I asked my other son, the one with the chainsaw, Kevin, to come on Sunday to clear the path to my compost pile in the woods. About 5 trees had fallen across the path. Denny and Keith joined him. Denny brought his quad with a winch so he could pull trees out that could be cut into rounds for firewood. So all the grandsons were there too. Shayne and Hunter played but Joe, the little adult, helped. He worked the winch and hooked the line to the wood that would be pulled. Then when the party moved to the house, to remove a dead eucalyptus tree, Joe swept off the roof. I commended my boys for the great job they're doing in being good dads, especially considering that they didn't have a role model most of their childhoods.  And I got to reward Joe for working so hard.

This Wednesday Shirley and I headed up to the tulip fields in the northern part of the state. It was a showery day but cleared up after about a half hour wait in the car in the tulip field parking lot. Shirley just tended to the baby and we visited a little more til the rain stopped. Shirley had all kinds of ideas so we carted into the gardens a hunk of astroturf and a little fence for Elise to hold onto to try to get standing shots of her. Besides the baby stroller, my photography stuff, a kneepad, our purses, etc... Shirley had made a complete tulip tutu outfit for Elise to wear. She was in an extremely good mood so as soon as we would sit her on the astroturf (good thing - it was wet and MUDDY!) she would start to SQUEAL! So cute! Needless to say, with our entourage, the "professional" photographer, the screaming "human tulip" (as one boy pointed out) in the bright red, we got lots of attention! It was a lot of fun and the pictures came out great! Before we left town we had to stop in at a "vintage" toy store. Not much in the way of vintage toys, mostly newer stuff with a vintage look and lots of art supplies, but a fun store none-the-less. I spent more in that store than I've spent in a toy store in a long time! I finally found the umbrella hat I've been wanting for my hot tub!

So I got out in service, spent time with family and got my yard cleaned up. All stuff that makes me feel good. Oh, yeah, working nearly full time means I can afford to splurge on a new camera too! I've been feeling squelched mainly by the inability to shoot in low light, the new camera has a sensor 4 times as sensitive in low light as my current camera. Yee haw!

About Me

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After 2 unsuccessful marriages I spent 12 years as a divorcee, only to fall prey to another man's wiles. We had a fun 5 years together and then he decided he wanted more freedom so once again I'm single.

So I'm freshly divorced at 57 and have 5 great kids and now 7 grandkids. My kids are still a major part of my life but I'm busy helping my aging parents on Kauai.

I've lived in California, Hawaii and Oklahoma before finally settling here in Washington. I love Washington and come back to visit family, friends and take care of my garden often but will be temporarily a resident of Kauai.

I've moved 30 times in my life (no, my parents weren't in the service, at least not since I was about 2) and finally planted roots when I got my little house that I've owned since '91.

My family are Jehovah's Witnesses, I've been one since '72.